A quarterly newsletter of the Australind Family History ... · The bay whalers in their small boats...

The Skeleton September 2014

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Editorial Main Story - WHALING IN WA p.5-p.19

President’s Report Sandakan Prison Camp p.4

AFHSoc. Services: Wordsearch p.8

Dates for your Diary Correcting WWI Trove p.20

Web Corner

Welcome to New Members

Members’ Interests

FEATURE ARTICLES:

ISSN 14440970

The Skeleton A q u a r t e r l y n e w s l e t t e r o f t h e

A u s t r a l i n d F a m i l y H i s t o r y S o c i e t y

( I n c )

A f f i l i a t e d w i t h W A G e n e a l o g i c a l S o c i e t y ( I n c )

Wh a l in g p i c tu re f r om Co mp a ra t i ve V id eo 1 0 1 web s i t e


The Australind Family History Society Inc.

Library and Research Centre Situated at: Australind Library Complex,

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Message from the Editorial Team

Hello everyone

It's great to have Chris Shaw, our President, back and enjoying good health after her operation.

This edition has been dedicated to the brave men who were involved in the whaling industry in the

south-west in the early days. We hope that you enjoy the stories of the relationships which developed between the American

whalers and the local settlers, and the reminiscences of those who remembered the whaling days.

The accounts of the young women who married American whaling captains and sailed back to set up

homes with them filled us with admiration. Some returned with their husbands on later trips, but most

would have never seen their families again.

Thanks to Pam for her assistance with our research and her stories about the Scott family

connections to the whaling industry. Thanks also to King Cottage Museum in Bunbury for allowing

us to photograph some of the whaling memorabilia kept at their museum and Robert Murray for

doing the photography. Also thank you Marg for putting the final touches to this newsletter.

Irma, Anne & Jayne

The E-Team

P.S. The Scanpro microfilm machine is now up and working again.

Best regards

Marg & Irma

The ‘E’ Team

DATES for your DIARY

Affiliated Family History Conference will be

held on 13th to 14th September 2014 at

WAGS, Perth.

Christmas Party 9th December.

On request we can arrange appointments for

researchers to come into the library on

Saturdays (between 10am and 2pm).

Committee meetings: Last Friday of the

month. 10am. AFHSoc Library.

WAGS Library open 1pm - 5pm - 2nd and 4th Sunday each month. www.wags.org.au

TIP: Don’t forget to bring along your USB

thumb drive to save files from your web

research.

----------------------------------------------------

AFHS SERVICES

Library visit

Affiliated Societies - no charge (show membership card)

.

Non members - $5.00 per visit

Membership: 1 Jan 2014– 31.12.2014. Computer Use Internet Access (includes Ancestry.com + Find My Past and many more)

All users $2.00 hr

Printouts .30c each Burn CDs $1.00 each

Micro Film/Fiche Readers/ Pro Scan All users $2.00 hr Printouts .30c each

Photocopying

A4 B&W single 20c Doublesided 30c

A4 Colour single 30c Doublesided 50c

A3 B&W single 30c Doublesided 60c

Ring Binding

Up to 50 sheets $2.00 Laminating Please ask at desk

http://www.wags.org.au/


A big thank you to our friends at Australind Gourmet Meats and

Baker's Delight (Treendale) for their support with our Sausage Sizzle.

----------------------------------------

TALK ON SANDAKAN PRISON CAMP

On Sunday 13th July a few of our members attended a meeting of the Australind District Historical

Society held in our library. We were treated to a talk by Ashleigh Hooper, a Year 10 student from

Australind Senior High School, who was one of ten selected to go on the Premier's Anzac Tour to

Sandakan in 2014. She spoke about the liberation of Borneo and Australian WW2 soldiers who were on

the three death marches from Sandakan prison camp. Only six out of over 1,000 POWs survived. The

group visited museums, cemeteries and memorials, and walked 7.8km of the actual track. Ashleigh was

visibly moved when she spoke of her life-changing experiences there. Next year (1915) the competition

will be open to 32 students, who will go to Gallipoli.

President’s Report

Hello to fellow members and researchers, and welcome to the September Skeleton.

Our former President Judy Hawkins has had time away from the Library but is now back helping Irma Walter with

the First Ships to Australind project, which is to record short stories about the first settlers..

The Sausage Sizzle was held at Bunnings in August at Bunbury and was very successful. Thanks to all the workers

who gave their time on the day. From 10am-2pm it was so busy it was difficult to keep up with demand. When

leftover drinks and sauces are sold we hope to have made a tidy profit. It was a lovely fine day and all the

organising beforehand, serving and cleaning-up went like clockwork. We only have this one fund-raising event a

year, and our members are quite happy to volunteer their time. Well done to everyone!

It’s now spring and it’s lovely to feel the warmth in the air and here in the south-west of WA we have had good

rains. However it’s not so good for the farmers in the east who have missed out on much-needed rain.

Our Christmas function will be held on 9th December and will be held in the building next to the library. This will

give us plenty of room to enjoy each other's company, if numbers are anything like last year! We will let you know

more details when it gets closer. Where has the year gone, I might ask?

I would like to wish all our readers a very happy and healthy springtime, enjoy reading the Skeleton.

Cheers, Chris Shaw (President)


Whaling in WA

Early French explorer Admiral La Perouse reported that these monsters of the deep were plentiful in WA

waters. Each year between June and mid-August they migrated along the Western Australian coast into warmer

waters, returning later in the year with their new-born calves. Whale oil was a valuable commodity, used for

purposes such as lighting and lubrication. French and American whaling captains found it profitable to travel

vast distances in search of the prized oil.

Whaling was Australia's first industry, encouraged by Governor Arthur Phillips from the time of first settlement.

From the 1790s a thriving local trade was operating in New South Wales and Tasmania. Though aware of the

profitability of the whaling taking place along our coast by foreign vessels, Western Australia was slow off the

mark in establishing its own industry.

Trade with American sea captains visiting our ports was encouraged. However there was some resentment on

the part of local settlers over the profits being made by these foreigners. It took a while before two local

whaling companies were formed, one at Perth in 1837 and the second at Fremantle a year later. Individuals

such as William Habgood, John Bateman, Patrick Marmion, Daniel Scott, and J.J. Harwood were prominent in

these ventures, with varying success. Smaller whaling parties were also operating at Port Gregory, King

George's Sound and at the Vasse, where Heppingstone was the chief operator.

....................................................................

The Whales They Hunted

The most highly prized whale oil was from sperm whales, particularly the oil from the huge head. This oil was

waxy and was known as 'spermaceti'. It was used for the manufacture of candles that produced a bright, clear

flame and was also used as an oil to fuel lamps.

The American whaling ships sought the sperm whales, which were found

further off the coast. Sperm whales belong to the toothed whales, which

feed on fish and giant squid and can grow up to 50 feet long.

Sperm whale

The bay whalers in their small boats chased the less valuable 'right' whales, so-

called as they were the ones which were 'right' to catch. They were slow-

moving black baleen whales which fed on krill and grew up to 60 feet in length.

Southern Right whale

The most common whale found along the WA coast is the humpback whale,

which grows up to 50 feet and reaches weights of forty-five tons.

Humpback whale


American Whalers at Port Leschenault

For years the few locals at Port Leschenault, as Bunbury was known, had a cordial relationship with the

American whalers, who replenished their fresh water supplies at the bay, and depended on fresh produce grown

by the settlers, who in turn were pleased to have a market for their mutton, potatoes, butter and cheese. The

Americans made sure that their ships carried boots, ropes, knives, tools, calico, tea, tobacco and other

essentials, to be bartered for the fresh food they needed to keep their crews healthy. American coinage was the

common currency for some of these transactions. The ships sometimes stayed in the bay for several seasons,

delaying a return to their home ports in New England until their barrels were full. Some captains even brought

their wives and purchased land close to the beach, becoming welcome members of the little community.

The relationship between the Americans and the locals became strained however when Governor Hutt imposed

a £6 piloting charge on foreign ships going in or out of Koombana Bay. As word of this imposition spread, the

Americans avoided Koombana Bay, calling instead into ports further south such as Geographe Bay, where no

such taxes had been imposed.

....................................................................

Relics of Koombana Bay Whaling

The local Koombana Bay whaling industry began in 1844 and reached its peak in the 1850s. However, few

relics remain in the area.

At Bunbury's King Cottage Museum we can see some whalebones and a

large iron try-pot, as well as a telescope said to have been the property of

Robert Scott, used to spot whales as they entered the bay. The wrecks of

two American whaling ships, the Samuel Wright and the North America,

wrecked during a severe storm in 1840, lie beneath the carpark opposite

the Dolphin Discovery Centre. An unknown sailor's grave is marked in

the same area. Try-pot

A few headstones in pioneer cemeteries remind us of the dangers faced by

those adventurous individuals who risked their lives every time they left

the beach to join the hunt. Today we are aware of the activities of the

large Japanese factory ships, which until recently pursued whales in the

Southern Ocean. Modern technology ensures the safety of those involved

in the modern whaling industry. Robert Scott's Telescope

Imagine, however, the dangers faced by the crew in a small wooden

whaling boat, needing to get close enough to plunge a harpoon into the

creature, then attempting to bring it back to shore for processing. It

was not a job for the faint-hearted. A whale boat could be overturned

by the flip of a whale's mighty tail. At times the crew would be forced

to abandon the chase after being towed far off the coast by an

oversized whale, or the whale would sink while to be being towed

back to shore and could not be retrieved. A successful day's hunt was a

rare event celebrated in the community Axe from the "North America" wreck


Whaling at Port Leschenault

"There she blows! There she blows!"

The shout from the lookout posted on the hill above Koombana Bay was the signal for the tiny community

at Bunbury that the chase would soon begin for that leviathan of the ocean, the whale.

Sightseers would gather to watch the spectacle. Women clutched their shawls

against the fresh sea breezes, their faces reflecting the concern for the menfolk

about to engage in this dangerous undertaking. Members of the local Aboriginal

tribe flocked down to the beach in anticipation of a fine feed that day. While

some settlers were not averse to eating parts of the whale meat as a change from

their monotonous diet, Aborigines would feast on the flesh for days, competing

with one another for the tongue of the whale, viewed as a rare delicacy.

The crew and their helpers would race down to the beach where the sturdy whale

boat stood ready for launching, already stocked with a harpoon attached to 200

fathoms of rope, neatly coiled in the forepart of the boat, and a hatchet to hack

through the rope in the event of an emergency. Lined up close to the beach were

the try-pots ready to receive chunks of whale blubber, with fires set beneath them

in anticipation of a catch. If successful, a long day and night were ahead, hacking

up the whale and rendering down its blubber into oil in the giant pots, then

draining it off into barrels. This had to be done quickly, otherwise too much of

the oil drained out of the carcass into the sand. The whale oil provided a valuable

supplement to the meagre incomes earned by local settlers from their farms, and

offered employment for the young men of the area.

....................................................................

"Whaleman's Lament"

Twas on the briny ocean

On a whaleship I did go,

Oft times I thought of distant friends,

Oft times I thought of home

Remembering of my youthful days.

I grieved my heart full sore

And fain I would return again

To my own native shore.

If I ever return again

I solemn vow I'll take

That I'll never go a-whaling

My liberty to take.

I will stay home

And I will roam no more

For the pleasures are by few my boys

For from our native shores.

There was a rigid taboo against singing shanties outside the framework of work. To sing a shanty

when there was no work involved could mean courting trouble. (Patricia C McLossack & Frederick L McKissack book, Black Hands, White Sails, 1999)


W O R D S E A R C H

_________________________________________________________________________________

WEB CORNER

*** Remember to visit our own AFHSoc Website administered by Chris Riley*** www.australindfhs.org

Aberdeenshire Library and Information Service - Local Studies

Family history resources - parish registers of baptisms, marriages & burials up to 1854, census records

(1841-1901), local newspapers from 1747 to the present day, maps of the counties of Aberdeen, Banff

and Kincardine from the 19th century to the present day -

www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/libraries/information/local_studies.asp

Irish Catholic Registers

Ancestry has added over 700,000 entries from Irish Catholic registers - www.ancestry.co.uk

National Archives of Ireland Genealogy

Free access to census records 1901 & 1911, Tithe Applotment Books 1823-1837, Soldier's Wills 1914-

1917, Calendar of Wills & Administrations 1858-1922 & more.

http://www.genealogy.nationalarchives.ie/

Inmates Register 1860-1872 Ballarat Benevolent Asylum (Victoria)

If you have anyone in Victoria you can't locates, they might have been here. This Asylum assisted

orphaned children, the poor, the aged and infirm, and maternity cases. Lists birthplace, arrival in colony,

age, parents and lots of other info. http://goo.gl/UwLNDv

New Zealand, Archives New Zealand, Passenger Lists 1839-1973

Images & index of the ship passenger lists of outbound & inbound passengers at the various ports of

NZ. http://familysearch.org/search/collection/1609792



Locals Involved In The South-West Whaling Industry

Bunbury owed its first real start to the whaling industry, which was mostly in the hands of Americans. It is

interesting to note that the arrival of ships was notified to settlers by flags or fires on Lighthouse and Stirling

Hills. The whaling industry declined when the Civil War broke out in the U.S.A., and our sole reminder of it,

nowadays, is the Whalebone Arch still to be seen at the corner of Wittenoom and Symonds Streets. Mr Jas.

Wenn, who still lives at South Bunbury, placed them there nearly 60 years ago, assisted by the late Mr. Leddie.

The former gentleman, a cooper by trade, came here in connection with the whaling industry, being employed

by Hapgood (Habgood) and Viveash, of Perth. A Mr Buswell also arrived at the same time. At the foot of

Lighthouse Hill were carried on the operations for the recovery of the oil. The town flourished on the sale of

fresh food and vegetables to the whalers, and, incidentally smuggling was rampant. The trade was mostly

carried on by means of barter, calico, dungarees, tobacco, etc., being mostly in demand by the settlers.

(Bunbury Herald, 7 November 1917)

Whalebone Arch

....................................................................

JAMES KAY CHILD

James Kay Child was the first settler to attempt bay whaling in the Leschenault Inlet. He arrived on the Henry

in 1841, the same ship as the Rev. Wollaston, bound for the Australind settlement. He was only 22 years of

age, sent out by his father in the hope that the warmer climate would cure his tuberculosis.

Accompanied by a servant William Allan King and under the friendly eye of Rev. Wollaston, James Child

soon quit Australind and set about building a warehouse in Victoria Street. Bunbury at that time was a small

scattered settlement. Much of the trade that occurred was with the American whalers who frequented the bay,

so bartering was very much a feature of Child's business. In 1843 he opened the town's first brewery for

colonial (sugar) beer. (Wollaston journal Vol.2 UWA Press 1992 p.81.) As can be imagined, this beverage was

highly appreciated by the American whaling crews.

In May 1843 the Rev. Wollaston recorded in his journal that "Child is enabled to enter the bay whaling by

taking an experienced American into partnership and he sees after all the work. The men are also paid by

shares of oil. Whale oil, if fresh used from the animal, is excellent for frying." The experienced headsman

employed by James Child was William M Stafford.

Wanted - For this season's bay whaling, from 6 to 8

hands. Application to be made on the spot to W M

Stafford, or to the undersigned, J. K. CHILD.

Bunbury, May 15, 1844.

(Inquirer, 22 May 1844)


James Kay Child contd...

As well as operating his Bunbury store and partnering the whaling enterprise, Child also developed a

property at Minninup, a few miles along the coast south of Bunbury. An orchard was planted and produce

was traded with the Americans. However, Child's health continued to deteriorate, and he died at Minninup in

1846, at the early age of 27 years. His friend Rev. Wollaston acted as executor and his goods were sold by

auction.

........................................................

In 1844 a letter was published in the Perth Gazette, from outspoken Scottish solicitor William Nairne Clark

(whose later claim to fame was his involvement in WA's only fatal duel, when he shot merchant George

French Johnson). In these extracts from his letter, Clark was scornful of the speculators back in England who

were involved in the failed Australind settlement scheme, but praised the independence of John Scott, about

to commence whaling at Leschenault.

...The commencement of the year 1844 has witnessed the formation of an association at Leschenault for the purpose of whaling in Koombana Bay.

...The projector of this new whaling establishment is Mr John Scott, the tenant of part of Sir James Stirling's estate at Leschenault, and he is well supported by other parties in the district.

...The men elect their own headsmen and steersmen in the different boats, and may make them a present at the end of the season in addition, to their shares, but they will not be bound to do so in their articles of agreement.

There will be two boats of seven oars, each, and one of five oars, with a corresponding complement of men, and a building will be erected on the beach so soon as the requisite permission is obtained from the Local Government. The establishment has something new in its formation, in as much as it offers the encouragement of a share of oil to any native that can pull an oar, or give other requisite assistance. The boats and gear are in a state of preparation; try-pots and casks have been already found; and the necessaries of life will be furnished by colonial produce, consisting of flour, potatoes, cured beef and pork, butter, cheese, and vegetables of many kinds.

The establishment requires no money from parties in England or elsewhere, and cannot be accused of "puffing" for the purpose of deceit. All that is gained will be carried to the credit account of the Colony. All that is lost, if the whales are frightened by this din of preservation, and swim away from the coast, will be a few months labour who might perhaps be less beneficially employed.

Yours obediently, WM. NAIRNE CLARK

(Perth Gazette, 6 January 1844)


ROBERT HEPPINGSTONE

In 1841 settler George Layman of Wonnerup was speared by a native, following an altercation. A year later

his widow Mary Layman married Robert Heppingstone (Jr.), who earlier had arrived at the Vasse with his

sister Charlotte to take up land at Wonnerup. Around 1847 Heppingstone took up a share in the whaling

industry at Castle Rock, near Dunsborough.

List of the Whaling party at the Vasse 1848

R. Heppingstone, Master: Articles signed before the Resident Magistrate :

Chief Headsman-Frederick Palmer

Second ditto.-William Amsley (Known also as 'Amersley' or 'Hammersley')

Boat-steerer-Edward Albert

Cooper-George Smith

Cook-William Hollands

Pulling Hands - Henry Barnett

John Muro Praevo

Michael G. Brady

John Spraknaw

(Government Gazette, in The Perth Gazette, 29 July,1848)

Vasse

Preparations are being made for whaling at Castle Rock. Mr. Heppingstone has engaged the

services of some very efficient headsmen, and proposes, we believe, to carry on a three-boat

fishery. With the high prices for oil at present ruling, there is little doubt that with ordinary

success the speculation will prove a profitable one.

(Inquirer, Wednesday, 4th May 1853)

In 1858, a boating accident occurred when Heppingstone's whaleboat was swamped by a wave, resulting in

his death along with another crew member, an Aboriginal. Three others were rescued.

[NOTE]: Heppingstone's father Robert (Sr.) was also drowned when he was swept off rocks whilst fishing at

Cape Leeuwin in 1835.


More Memories Of Whaling, By Bunbury Old-Timers

THOMAS MARRIOTT - AND BUNBURY'S FIRST BAND

Thomas Marriott was in his nineties in 1907 when a reporter from the 'Bunbury Herald' paid a visit to him

and his wife, who were still hale and hearty after more than 65 years of married life. The occasion was the

death of Robert Scott, the son of Bunbury's first settler, John Scott.(extract)

"I arrived in Perth in August 1844, and left for Bunbury in November, 1845."

"Where did you first meet Mr Scott?"

"On Eelup farm. Mr and Mrs John Scott were like a father and mother to me. I used to help them reap. Robert

Scott did not leave the old farm till just before he married."

"At what time did he start whaling?"

"He started that while he was still on the old farm, that is before he got married. John Scott, Jr, Robert Scott

and John Stafford were the crew of the whale boat. The whales then came into the bay. They could be seen

blowing from the lighthouse hill. Sometime afterwards they formed themselves into a stronger party and had

two whale boats. An old whaler, Hammersley (Amsley), a coloured man, who had been on American

whalers, was the skipper. They got a few whales. Sometimes they had an exciting time and had to cut free as

whales were towing them away far out to sea. More than once the whales capsized the boats. However, they

always brought full numbers home, none of them getting worse than a ducking."

"Where did they get the harpoons and other gear?"

"Before 1842, two or three American whalers were driven ashore on the north beach. The settlers got

harpoons, iron pots for rendering down the whales, and other gear from the wrecked vessels."

"Didn't the whalers have a band?"

"Yes, these whaling boys had a fine band, about 20 performers all

told. That was before 1850. They had fifes, a slide trombone and other

brass instruments. They had at first no drum, but they made one

themselves. The frame was a flour cask. On a still night on the water I

have heard that band miles away. Hammersley (Amsley), the coloured

man, was drummer. He could play the violin too. He was Bunbury's

first bandmaster."

"When they got the whales what did they do with them?"

"They got them ashore and rendered them down for oil in the iron pots I mentioned."

"Now to come back to Bunbury's first settler, Robert Scott, what did he do after he married?"

"He farmed then practically all his life. He had a property near Minninup and another on the Blackwood." (Bunbury Herald, 8 April 1907)

[NOTE]: Crewmen kept their personal goods in a wooden box, known as a locker, under their bunks. Often

they held a small musical instrument such as a fife. Music was an important part of their recreation, with

ballads sung on deck, and sea-shanties giving rhythm to the tedious jobs of hauling ropes.


ROBERT SCOTT

Following J. K. Child's unfortunate demise, his whaling enterprise was continued by

an American, William M. Stafford, with varying success. In 1844 another small

company operated by Robert Scott entered the industry. The two operators were highly

competitive.

Some of Scott's descendants recalled that Aboriginals who worked on 'Eelup Farm'

were a great help when the Scotts began whaling, because of their superior vision.

They were posted along the coast between Bunbury and Minninup, and when an Aboriginal saw a whale

blowing he sent signals along the line to the waiting crews at Lighthouse Hill. A grandson of John Scott told

of an Aboriginal named Namarat. With a telescope that John Scott had bought from an American sailor,

Namarat was given the job of lookout on Lighthouse Hill. When he sighted a whale he would point the

telescope in another direction to deceive other waiting whaling crews. Another Aboriginal, Jim Crow, who

also sighted whales, had a habit of pursing his lips. He would stand on Scott's toes and purse his lips in the

direction of the whale without saying a word.

The Scott crew would set off with a barrel of 300 to 400 fathoms of coiled rope in the bow. One of the crew

stood behind the barrel with a harpoon attached to the rope. When the harpoon was embedded the whale

would make off. A turn of the rope around the bollard and the whale would tow the boat until exhausted. The

cutter, which kept up with the chase, took over when the whale began to sink and towed it to the beach,

where it was cut up and rendered down in the try-pots. The crew put the oil in barrels made of American oak.

J. F. Wenn did the coopering in those early days. Large quantities of the oil were sold to American whalers,

some was sold to local settlers for their lamps and some was sent to Perth and Fremantle by coasting vessel.

Whales were caught off Minninup Beach. The American whalers called in for the rendered down oil and to

barter for any food supplies that were available, especially potatoes and other fresh vegetables. The whalers,

when coming in for oil, used flat bottomed boats to come close to the shore. They loaded the barrels of oil

from drays backed into the sea. The oil so saturated the drays that it was a constant job for the men to keep

the nuts and bolts tight. The whalers usually brought their own barrels, but at times when these were not

available, they had supplies of readymade shooks of American oak from which the settlers assembled their

own barrels. Expert coopers were scarce in those days so the settlers had to learn to make the barrels

themselves.

Whaling provided income, a market for bartering goods and excitement for early Bunbury settlers. All that

remains of the industry today are the odd huge back-bones, bleached and weathered on the beaches of

Geographe Bay.

Robert and Jane Scott

(Verna Glossop, Bunbury's First Settlers, 2000 p.24.)


JAMES WENN

[Carpenter and boat-builder, employed by William Ramsay as a whaler captain in Bunbury.]

James Wenn arrived in the Simon Taylor with his parents in 1842, aged 7. When interviewed in 1907, Mr

Wenn had clear memories of early Bunbury. He recalled that at that time, inner Bunbury was just a swamp.

He described his father's connection to the whaling industry as follows:-

“Who started the whaling industry?"

"The first man to really take it up was Bateman. There was also a whaling station at the Vasse which was

carried on by Vivash and Apgood (Viveash and Habgood). Their station was at Quindalup. There was

another whaling station at Castle Rock, near Cape Naturaliste. My father was cooper for the whaling party at

Quindalup. He carried it on after Vivash and Apgood left. There was also another party at the same place

carrying on the same business. The latter was called 'the opposition.' I remember that my father's boat went

out one day and fastened on to a right whale, which capsized the boat. Before then they had driven a harpoon

into it. The opposition boat was also out and instead of helping the crew of Wenn's boat, all of whom were

struggling in the water, they went in pursuit of the whale. All the crew of Wenn's boat were drowned except

one, who had almost reached the shore when he was killed by a shark. This unfortunate man's name was Jack

Portsmouth. As Wenn's party had first harpooned the whale, the court ordered it to be given to Wenn, so the

opposition gained nothing by their inhumanity. The next whaling season my father went to Hamelin Bay for

Vivash and Apgood. They did very well there.

(Bunbury Herald, Friday 7 June 1907)

In response to the above comments by James Wenn, a correction was published shortly afterwards in a letter

from Mrs Jane Scott, wife of Robert Scott.

...The first whaling industry was started by a Mr Child, whose remains are laid in Picton churchyard. He was also the first storekeeper in Bunbury. Then, Mr Scott, (my husband's father) and a Mr Witt, who came out in the ship Diadem in April 1842, started an opposition party either in 1843 or 1844. My husband and his brother, and a Mr Stafford, an American, who understood winning, carried it on for Mr Child. Then my husband and his brother left Mr Child and carried on the enterprise for their father. Yours etc., JANE SCOTT, Bunbury, 22 June 1907.

(Bunbury Herald, 24 June 1907)

........................................................

African-American Crew Members

During the nineteenth century work on the American whaling ships was a dirty and dangerous job. Long

periods were spent at sea in cramped conditions. It was difficult to maintain a permanent workforce, with

crew members frequently jumping ship at distant ports. The crews were quite cosmopolitan, consisting of

men from various ethnic backgrounds. Because of the dangers they faced, the men out of necessity mostly

worked co-operatively, regardless of race.

African-Americans were a common sight on these ships. Their contribution to the success of the American

whaling industry is well-recorded. They formed a large proportion of many crews which came to Australia.

Quaker sea-captains opposed to the slave trade in the southern states, frequently employed slaves who were

on the run. They were regarded as excellent workers, so it is not surprising that they were sought as crew

members in the local bay whaling industry in WA.


WILLIAM AMSLEY, WHALER

William Amsley, born c1822, arrived in WA on the whaling ship North America (Captain Grinnell, Warren,

Rhode Island, U.S.A.) in 1843. During a cyclone in April, the ship was wrecked in Koombana Bay, along

with Captain Coffin's ship Samuel Wright. The North America wreck was bought at auction by Captain Scott

of Fremantle.

William Amsley remained in WA. He was a skilled whaling hand, and was employed as a headsman by

Robert Heppingstone. Later he skippered a boat for the Scott's in Bunbury.

In 1851 William Amsley, - "a man of colour", unsuccessfully took Heppingstone to court for non-payment of

his share of the profits. The case failed due to Amsley being designated as a partner, rather than an employee.

It is possible that William was from Cape Verde, off the West coast of Africa. He married an Irish girl

Johanna Fennell (born c1830) in 1854. Together they had a large family. Several of their sons were

prominent athletes & sportsmen.

In May 1859, William Amsley was master of the 17-ton cutter Brothers, departing Fremantle for the Vasse.

William died at the age of fifty-one. Johanna re-married in 1876, this time to George Grant in Busselton. He

left the marriage some years before the death of Johanna in 1890 at the Vasse. She was supported by her

family members following his desertion. At the time of her death, it was reported that Johanna had been a

long-time resident of Busselton for upwards of forty years.

........................................................

Hi-Jinks On Shore

Whaling crews were poorly paid. They were able to book up the cost of clothing they needed, plus tobacco,

etc., while on board ship. The amount was then deducted from their wages at the end of their voyage, leaving

little to show for all their hard work. Some of the captains were Quakers and ran a dry ship, paying small

sums to their crews when they went to shore, allowing them to drink at the taverns or to purchase sly grog.

Avoiding the payment of duties by smuggling alcohol and tobacco ashore was a common occurrence with

some whaling captains, and difficult to police.

It proved difficult to round the crew at the end of a stay in port. Those who jumped ship needed to lie low for

a number of weeks, as their captains would pay for information about the whereabouts of escapees, even

keeping an eye out for recalcitrant crew members on return trips. Informing on missing seamen was known

as 'crimping'.


From A Policeman's Point Of View

(As told by Thomas Spence, who left England in 1863 at the age of twenty, and spent many years as a

policeman in various parts of WA, before leaving for Victoria, NSW and then up to Queensland, where he

eventually owned four pastoral properties.)

...Eventually Mr. Spence joined the police and in that capacity he saw a good deal of the

state. Their three enemies, he remarked, were the blacks, the Yankee runaway sailors,

and the ticket-of-leave men. Bunbury was a great port of old for the Yankee whalers.

Mr. Spence had seen as many as eighteen anchored in the harbour. The captains bought

up the orchards there and the men had a wildly hilarious time. The greater proportion

were American negroes. When the time came for a vessel to put to sea more than half

the crew would be missing. Then the fun would start. The captain would offer from £5

to £15 per head and the search would begin. There was a notorious crimp in Bunbury

and, in addition to crimping, he used to plant the men. But he got money both ways.

After planting them he used to give the police the "dinkum oil" and then cut the reward-

50-50. Mr. Spence said they had some wild times getting the crews on board... (Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Queensland) 21 December 1922)

........................................................

Local Aboriginal whaling crews received notably lower payments than the south coast crews. An 1850

report from the Bunbury station states that Jack Crow, an Aboriginal man working as an oarsman, was

receiving three meals a day, a payment of 2 shillings and sixpence as soon as a whale was grounded and

a further sum of twenty shillings (£1) at the termination of the season. This contrasts sharply with the

more highly paid Aboriginal workers from Cheyne Beach, 70km east of Albany, who in the following

year returned to Albany carrying lays (payments based upon a pre-determined percentage share of the

profits) of £15 each. (Martin Gibbs, Nebinyan's songs: an Aboriginal whaler of south-west Western Australia)

........................................................

Accidental Deaths In The Local Industry

William Sowl, an American whaler was from Westport, Massachusetts, U.S.A. He

lost his life at sea, at the age of 34, and was buried in St Mary’s churchyard in

Busselton in 1850. This is a picture of the original grave marker which states

William Sowl was the First Mate of the whaler Hiburnia, (Hibernia) that sailed from

New Bedford, U.S.A. on a whaling voyage between 1849 and 1853. The ship’s

captain was Archelaus Baker, Jr. The grave marker has now been replaced with a

more robust monument in the same churchyard in Busselton. According to the

Westport Historical Society, his American descendants have often enquired about

the whereabouts of the grave. (Picture from Westport Historical Society)

........................................................ Sadly, in the search for profits, there were reports of lives being lost in the whaling industry -

A whale was captured by the Fremantle whalers on Sunday last, and was brought in, cut up, and

tried down, by Monday night, evincing great alacrity on the part of those engaged. We understand

it has returned 8½ tons of oil and a third of a ton of whalebone, its value may be estimated at about

£250. An accident has been reported to us, which occurred at the whaling station Leschenault,

where a man of the name of Harper was unfortunately drowned, whilst in pursuit of a whale.

(Perth Gazette, 15 June 1844)

........................................................


The whale that we mentioned in our last accounts from Bunbury as having been secured by Mr.

Heppingstone's party had been previously fastened to by another whale-boat. It went off quietly for

the first 400 yards, and then turned round and stove in the boat; three men out of the crew were

drowned — namely, M. Bethany (headsman), C. Westall, and J. Nutter; the body of the last

mentioned was found. (Inquirer, 25 August, 1847)

Mr. Kerr's whaling party, stationed near the wreck of the Governor Endicott, in attacking a whale

on the 7th inst., had their boat stove by the fish, and the crew narrowly escaped drowning; it was

rumoured two of the party were lost, but we believe this is not correct.

On the 8th instant, Mr. Heppingstone's party secured a right whale, which from the circumstance of

its having a harpoon in it, is supposed to be the same which was attacked on the previous day by

Mr. Kerr's boat. (Perth Gazette, 21 August, 1847)

........................................................ We have heard from Leschenault that the gale there was most terrific, while it lasted. Mr. Scott had

two large boats, both at anchor, taking in cargo; one, the Perseverance, parted from her anchor,

drove on shore, and is a complete wreck; the other, the Antelope, filled and went down at her

anchor, taking with her an unfortunate man of the name of Frantz, who was drowned.

(Inquirer, 5 March, 1845)

Following his drowning, Joseph Franz, aged 37, (born Hawkhurst), was buried at Picton cemetery.

.....................................................

A Lucky Escape - Previous to the dissolution of the whaling party at Castle Rock, one of those

accidents to which whalers are always subject, occurred. A loose whale struck one of the boats and

smashed it to pieces, without, beyond a few slight wounds from splinters, injuring any of the men.

As the boat was fast to a whale at the time, some danger might have ensued, from the entanglement

of the line, but this was obviated by the presence of mind of the headsman, who cut the rope.

.....................................................

SOME GOOD CATCHES

A Yank and an Englishman were one day talking of their fishing experiences, the Yank telling how once

when he was fishing, he hooked a big fish and after a big struggle he landed it. The length of the fish

was 20 feet. Isn't that a good catch for one man?" he said.

"Well," said the Englishman, "once I was out fishing, and no sooner had I cast my line, than there was a

terrible strain, my line went down, down."

"Ah," said the Yank, "a whale I suppose?"

"Eh what?" said the Englishman. "No, I had a whale for bait." (Toodyay Herald, Friday, 15 May 1936)


Marriages Between Locals And American Whalers

From the time of Bunbury's first settlement by the Scott family, cordial relationships were

established between the settlers and the whalers, going far beyond pure trade. Diaries record

social interactions onshore, with invitations issued by colonials starved of civilised company,

and welcomed by crews who were tired of the limited companionship and appalling conditions

they suffered on board whaling ships.

Friendships were strengthened during the lengthy stays and return visits of the Americans. There were

surprisingly more marriages to American whalers to south-west women than we realise and the following

stories are proof of this:-

Hannah Burnham Bryan, born in Augusta in 1841, married not just one Yankee whaler but two; with

both marriages ending disastrously. Her first marriage was when she was only sixteen years old to

Henry Mason, Mate of the American whaling ship, Vesper on 7th April 1857. They had two

daughters Caroline Burnham (born 1858 at sea) and Charlotte Augusta (born 1861 New London,

Connecticut, USA - Charlotte is mentioned again later). However, Henry Mason (a skipper of a

Yankee whaler) treated his wife badly, finally deserting her. Her mother Ann reputedly travelled to

America to bring a destitute Hannah back to WA. On 28th June 1869, Hannah rushed heedlessly into

a second marriage to another American sailor, James Brown Travis. They had two daughters,

Amanda May (born 1870 in Capel River) and Kate Adeline (born 1872 in Busselton) before leaving

her penniless and pregnant. Sadly, Hannah died on 1875 aged 37 years giving birth to a son, Nelson

Benedict (born in Vasse). (Frances Terry, They Came to the Margaret,

SW Printing & Publishing Co., Ltd. Bunbury, WA. 1978)

Captain John Henry Stackpole and Laura Morland Thomson in 1838. John Stackpole's ship Harvest

was anchored at Port Leschenault in June 1838 when a gale hit the area. He wrote a letter to local

harbourmaster Henry Bull, confirming the safety of the bay as a winter harbour. His ship

experienced a few more mishaps before it finally left Fremantle in October 1838 for New Port,

Rhode Island via the Cape of Good Hope. On board were several passengers and his new wife, Laura

Morland Thomson, 16 year-old daughter of Scottish-born Robert Thomson, a farmer on Rottnest

Island for a number of years.

Captain George Lyman Howland, of the whaler Canton, married Ellen Scott at Albany. He took

Ellen back to New Bedford, Massachussetts, where it is said that she led a lonely life while her

husband was at sea. Ellen Howland died at the age of 39, after 13 years of marriage.

(Joan Druett, Petticoat Whalers: Whaling Wives at Sea, 1820-1920)

[NOTE: M. W. Clifton, in his Journals in 1842 refers to Captain Howland as "a very respectable

pleasant man.]

In 1860 Henry Melville Adams married Mary Smith, companion to Ellen Bussell's family on their trip

to Australia. He was born in 1823 Aberdeen Scotland and trained as a ship's carpenter. Moving to

England and then briefly to Baltimore Maryland USA before gaining work on the whaler "Eagle".

'Harry' Adams jumped ship from the Eagle, and sought refuge with the Bussell family, who welcomed

him as a reliable farm worker. He took up land in the area, and named it 'Maryland'. The property is now

known as 'Moss Wood Estate Winery', at Wilyabrup, WA.


Charles Donat Keyser, born 1829 in Philadelphia, arrived in WA around 1850 on an American

whaler and decided to stay. In 1853 he married Catherine Thurkle of Busselton, daughter of a

convict Thomas Thurkle, who had served his sentence in Tasmania. Keyser

prospered as a timber cutter and builder, constructing timber mills for Yelverton at

Quindalup. Catherine bore 15 children. She died at the Vasse in 1886. The family

moved to Albany, where Charles prospered as a businessman. He also ran hotels at

Grasspatch & Esperance. A few years before his death in 1900 he married Ellen

Billings at Esperance. (My Ancestry - Roxane Humphries Ancestry Public Family Tree)

Sam 'Yebble' Isaacs, who in 1876, alongside 16-year old Grace Bussell, famously rode out into the

surf at Calgardup Bay near Margaret River to rescue survivors of the shipwrecked Georgette, was

born c1845, the son of a Native American mariner who absconded from a whaler in the early 1830s,

and his mother was a woman from the Wardandi tribe from the Augusta area. Sam was awarded a

medal for his bravery, and his freedom to select a 100-acre block of Crown land of his own selection,

on the banks of the Margaret River.

Records show another Isaacs family link to the American whalers who visited south-west WA, with

Sam's wife Lucy (daughter of a Major Lowe). She is reputed to have been a former cook aboard one

of these ships. They were married in 1870. Lucy M. Isaacs passed away in 1914, while Sam died in

1920.

(Source: Vic Isaacs, at http://www.wilja.asn.au/georgette.htm)

Captain Robert Milroy Brown married Charlotte Heppingstone daughter of Robert Heppingstone,

(sr.) and Ann (née McKinley) of Busselton. When aged sixteen, Charlotte was sent home on the

Electra to Scotland to be educated but enroute was stranded in Cape Town, so Captain Baker took

her on to New London, to wait there for a ship to England. However, she never got to Scotland but

married Robert Brown instead at Groton, Connecticut in 1842. He was the second mate on the

Electra.

In April 1850, Captain Robert Milroy Brown took his wife and children to sea in the ship North Star.

They eventually stopped at Geographe Bay where they remained for two weeks visiting Charlotte’s

relatives. On the return voyage (via the Okhotsk Sea, off the Siberian coast) a daughter Mary was

born at sea in April 1851. They arrived in Honolulu in October 1851 where they settled and had

three more children so Charlotte never again visited Western Australia. Charlotte died at Seattle in

1879.

(Frances Terry, They Came to the Margaret,

SW Printing & Publishing Co., Ltd. Bunbury, WA. 1978)

Harriet Layman from Wonnerup married widower Captain John Prentis Hempstead, one of five

whaler brothers from New London, Connecticut. She had sailed to Honolulu with her friend

Charlotte Brown (née Heppingstone) and her husband Captain Brown, to help with their small

children. There she met and married Captain John Hempstead. After ten years of marriage she died

in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1898. (Joan Druett, Petticoat Whalers: Whaling Wives at Sea, 1820-1920)

........................................................

http://trees.ancestry.com.au/tree/42119249/family?fpid=20441381181


CAPTAIN FRANCIS COFFIN

Captain Francis C. Coffin was born into a well-known whaling family in Salem Massachusetts. In 1839 he

sailed for Australian waters in the Samuel Wright. While anchored in Koombana Bay on the 7 July 1840 a

gale drove the ship onto the shore, along with another American whaler, the North America, under Captain

Kempton.

Following the beaching of the Samuel Wright, Coffin lived in the relatively undamaged hull for a while,

renting out some storage space onboard to the Australind WA Land Company. Both shipwrecks were

auctioned quickly on behalf of their American owners. Coffin bought the wreck of the Samuel Wright for

£305 and used the whale boats and equipment to conduct bay whaling at Bunbury, employing most of his

crew. (Clifton Letter Book)

Captain Coffin was appointed as Bunbury's first pilot. He purchased a block of land in Picton where he used

timber from the wreck to construct a few rough buildings as living and storage quarters. When he decided to

return to the US, he sold the property to the Rev. Wollaston (later Archdeacon), who later built a new

dwelling known as "Charterhouse" on the site. "Charterhouse" was named after his birthplace in England.

Mrs Coffin and her son left WA on the Grotius, bound for the United States on the 1st March 1842. Francis

Coffin left the colony in 1844.

........................................................

Gruesome Find in Sandhills

Old-Time Graveyard discovery in sand hills Bunbury, Wednesday.

The work of excavating sand on the Bunbury beach near the stone-crusher last week brought into view

the foot of a coffin very much decayed and broken. The workmen stopped the excavation until

arrangements were made for the re-burial at the cemetery.

Many years ago several burials took place at this spot, and amongst those interred there were members

of a whaler's crew. The body of a ship's captain, it is stated, was also brought ashore and buried on the

sandhills. (Daily News, 22 November, 1928)

........................................................

To All Our Members

Some of you may be interested in spending some of your spare time on this:- WW1 and Trove Newspapers

We all know that it is the 100th anniversary of the First World War. In commemoration, Trove has aimed to put all

newspapers published in Australia between 1914-1918 on their website. For those of you unfamiliar with Trove, it

is a massive digitisation project being undertaken by the National Library of Australia.

Most of these newspapers need corrections to the printed material, as the electronic scanners rarely read the print

clearly. For instance names may appear quite scrambled, and this can throw search results off. Correcting the text

does help folk who are doing specific name searches.

As a personal project for myself, and in memory of the members of my family who fell in WW1, I have been

working to correct the family notices, obituaries, lists of those injured or killed in action, for the newspaper of my

home town. I thought that this may be helpful for other folk researching their families. I like to suggest that if you

have some time to devote to correcting Trove newspapers, perhaps for the town that you were born in or that your

family came from, or your family name, that this is a fine year to start such a personal and community project.

The rules governing the correction of text of published newspapers in Trove, are pretty straightforward, and can be

read on the website.

I hope that some of you will be interested to be involved, or just to have a go, and together we can make a personal

contribution to commemorate those who went before. Regards Rowena


Manufacture of Whalebone

The small waist became a desirable feature in the 1800s and no well-bred woman would think

of appearing in public 'uncorseted'.

Whenever the word "corset" is mentioned in a historical context, it's almost

always described as being "whalebone". Yet this is something of a misnomer:

corsets weren't stiffened with whalebone, but with another part of the whale

called baleen.

Baleen is the feathery, comb-like feature of the mouths of some whales. As a

material, baleen is strong and stiff but yielding, and can be cut, filed and shaped.

Many things that are today fashioned from plastic were made from baleen,

including eyeglass frames, the spokes of umbrellas and parasols, and the blades of folding fans.

Baleen didn't crack like reeds or wood splints (other popular and less expensive options.) It

was strong and pliable, and could be split to make the very thin stays that were necessary for

corsets.

(Chase & Bradford, Two Nerdy History Girls http:/twonerdyhistorygirls.blogspot.com.au)

Beauty of Figure

It is incumbent upon every woman to secure or retain beauty of figure. A person of good figure will retain her charm of character longer than one who becomes slovenly and unwieldy.

The modern Corset is the chief aid to woman's beauty of figure.

The BON MARCHE carries a splendid collection of the most reliable makes - the kind of Corset that coax the figure into firm, graceful lines. Hygienically made, and extremely comfortable, the most exacting dresser will find a mode that will exactly meet her ideas of perfect corsetry.

(Bunbury Herald, 12 September 1914)

By the early twentieth century, however, the price of whalebone had become so prohibitive that it

was often recycled from discarded corsets and old umbrellas. Eventually whalebone was replaced

by cheaper alternatives of flexible steel and heavy-duty plastic. Corsets made today for the fashion

and costume markets no longer contain whalebone. (Fishbone - Linguistics and Superstitions website, 5th August 2012.)


** WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS **

622 Ann Fricker Leschenault

623 Dave Henderson Leschenault

624 Peter May Bunbury

625 Janet Painter Bunbury

626 Laureen Smyth Eaton

627 Patrick Connolly Bunbury

628 Chris Morgan Dalyellup

629 Carol Morgan Dalyellup

Surname Place State/Co Country Period

Member

No.

ALCOCK Lowestoft SFK ENG Pre 1918 626

CONNOLLY

SLI IRL 1850 627

COOPER Lowestoft SFK ENG Pre 1960 626

DENWOOD

ENG

619

DRAKES

LIN ENG Pre 1850 625

FLINTOFF

YKS ENG Pre 1850 625

HAMILTON Stockton DUR ENG Pre 1900 626

JACKSON Bridlington YKS ENG Pre 1910 622

LANGAN

SLI IRL 1850 627

LAWRENCE Newport MON WLS 1890 + 629

MADDEN LDY IRL 1800+ 627

MARLOWE Newry IRE Pre 1850 620

MORGAN/TAYLOR WA/QLD AUS Pre 1910 622

PHILLIPS AUS 619

PHILLIPS ENG 619

RAINEY IRL 1800 627

REID LDY IRL 1800+ 627

ROBBINS YKS ENG Pre 1850 625

ROSSI Naples ITALY 1800+ 627

ROWE Colchester ESS ENG Pre 1940 626

SIMS AUS 619

SMYTH Rochdale LAN ENG Pre 1960 626

If you would like to contact any of our new members please ring the AFHS library on 9796 1050

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